Sunday, January 28, 2018

FLW PRESS RELEASETim
Frederick’s very first tournament during his rookie season on the FLW Tour was
on Lake Okeechobee. He finished dead last. Two years later, he has a chance to
go from worst to first.

Following
a day two that saw six anglers crack 20 pounds and one nearly break 30,
Frederick was the lone angler to crack 20 pounds on day three. His 23-3 bag on
Saturday jumped him to 65-6 total, which allowed him to overtake Bryan Schmitt
by 15 ounces to lead the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

Tim finding beds with big worms.(Photo: FLW)

“I have a love/hate relationship with
Okeechobee,” says Frederick, who hails from Leesburg, Fla. “The hate is that
first tournament, but I’m a Florida power fisherman by nature. So I still love
it.”

The
ironic part for Frederick is that as much as he’d love to be powerfishing, what
has him in the lead is a painfully slow and steady approach.

The
pro is target fishing for bedding fish he can’t see. To do that, he’s lining up
on isolated clumps of pencil reeds and other targets, putting his poles down,
and then methodically casting to specific spots. Frederick says watching him is
like watching paint dry, as he’ll take as long as five minutes to complete a
cast.

“I
can actually feel the bed when I’m dragging my bait through,” says Frederick.
“When I do, I really slow down and will make multiple casts.”

The
pattern has produced some big bites, though it took a little longer than
expected Saturday. He caught one good one early, but it took him awhile to
catch a limit. Then the water temp in his area near Harney Pond hit 64 degrees
and a 45-minute window opened up where he caught two more giants.

As
for the final day, Frederick says he has no intentions of changing.

“I’m
going to stick with it,” says Frederick. “The clouds seem to be hurting a
little, which is not good for tomorrow, but I have no other choice. I have to
stick it out there, win, lose or draw.”

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